bottle shop

Beer City Bottle Shop Is Now Open on N. Mississippi in Portland

Beer City Bottle Shop is now open on N. Mississippi in Portland. The bottleshop and taproom takes over part of the old Pastaworks space just a block from Prost! and Bridgetown Beerhouse. We stopped in for a quick beer and to take a look around.

A super clean and mostly bright space, Beer City has the simple and cold aesthetic of a car garage, all concrete walls and lighting fixtures. They do their best to warm the space up with a little green tree, an odd beer sign, a cool blue color scheme wherever there is a non-concrete wall that can be painted. A sole TV is set up behind the bar for use on popular game nights. Best of all, there are some interesting unmounted photos by one of the owners of interesting beer art, basically figures and shapes found in the bubbles looking down into ones pint glass. A handful of folks chatted up the bartenders on metal stools while off in the corner a couple of live wood slab tables and cozy leather love seat offer a coffee shop-like intimacy.

Though it’s called a bottle shop, I found the space’s focus to be the 8 rotating taps at the bar. There is a very nicely rounded opening taplist featuring Reverend Nat’s Cider, Upright Brewing Six, and Elysian Space Dust IPA, to name a few. Surprisingly, there are only four cooler doors of bottles so far; again, they are carefully selected with a strong variety and good brands, with a little space for craft sodas and ciders. There are a couple of bottle specials if you pay attention, including a “Create Your Own 6-Pack” of 12oz bottles or cans for $10, which could be good depending on what’s available and what you select. There is also an Opening Special of pre-mixed 6-packs to go for $8 each.

Like Tin Bucket or Growler Guys, the Beer City Bottle Shop folks already have a display of their own personally branded shirts, hats, and growlers. I gotta say ,these aguys have a good looking logo that translates well to shirts and branded merchandise.

Beer City does have a very limited food menu of panini grilled sandwiches made behind the bar. I did not try any, but the menu includes an Italian Melt ($8.50), Cheese Melt ($6.50), Turkey Melt ($8.50), Beef & Cheddar sandwich ($8.50), and a BBQ’d Hawaiian sandwich (also $8.50). For bar snacks, there are also a Meat & Cheese Plate with Salami, Capicola, Prosciutto, Brie, Fig Jam, Whole Grain Mustard and bread for $9.50, a Hummus Plate for $8, or a pint of pretzels for $1.

The New School first reported on Beer City back in October 2014, when it raised some controversy over distance and comments about nearby Bridgetown Beerhouse. A purely by-the-numbers comparison between Bridgetown and Beer City: they both have 8 rotating taps; Bridgetown serves no food but Beer City does; Bridgetown has around 500 different bottles and Beer City only around 150. From our perspective, the only substantial difference is the completely different decor at Beer City, including big person-sized glass windows and industrial feel. Do you want to drink in the dark or the light?

Founder of The New School and most frequent contributor Ezra Johnson-Greenough has worked in the craft beer industry for almost 10 years, doing everything from illustrating beer labels to bartending at renowned beer bars and breweries like Belmont Station, Apex, Laurelwood and Upright Brewing. He has also had a hand in creating events like the Portland Fruit Beer Festival, Portland Beer Week, and the Brewing up Cocktails series. He is available for freelance consultation in marketing, events, graphic design and branding.
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The New School Beer aims to be the #1 source for craft beer, cider and mead industry news in the northwest. We focus on breaking stories about new breweries, new brands, openings, closings, reviews, interviews, videos and industry news and commentary from a variety of well connected contributors.